EU Affairs
Denmark to aid Malta illegal immigration problem
By MaltaMedia News
Mar 20, 2007 - 9:14:16 AM

Denmark has responded positively to an EU request to send support to overburdened border patrols in southern Europe.   In fact Integration minister, Rikke Hvilsh, gave her green light to sending Danish police and public officials to countries such as Malta, Spain and Italy to help battle the problem, The Copenhagen Post reported.

“As a member of the Schengen Agreement we have a responsibility we should not run away from,” Hvilsh told Berlingske Tidende newspaper. 'These forces protect the EU borders and by way of extension our own borders.'

Both Spain and Malta had asked Denmark for help with its immigration problems last year, and Denmark offered the countries four asylum management experts from the Integration Ministry and State Police. Malta agreed to take on one law enforcement official, while Spain declined the offer.

Hvilsh said the Frontex Agency will allow a quicker dispatch of both human and material support to the affected countries. She did not specify concretely what assistance Denmark would offer but said that Denmark should report its participation to the other EU countries as quickly as possible, The Copenhagen Post reported.

Meanwhile while supporting his country’s participation, Andreas Kamm, secretary general of the Danish Refugee Council stressed that assistance should be humanitarian, not military.

Source: The Copenhagen Post


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